10 Awesome Gift Ideas for Dad
By: Keith
Yesterday I wrote a list of 10 gifts for kids. Today it’s dad’s turn. Dads can be a frustrated lot; they don’t like to talk much and they feel ashamed sometimes for wanting things. The result of bad communication is that they rarely get what they really want. Every Christmas you’ll see dad in a corner muttering to himself about the pile of socks, ties, useless golf gadgets and other equally stupid stuff piled at his feet while everyone else plays with their toys. He doesn’t complain. He just sighs and throws all the stuff in the closet and waits for next year. Well, this list of 10 gift ideas for dad is a look into a man’s mind that is hard to find elsewhere.
Red Shirt is just one of several scents in this line. There is also a Tiberius and Kahn and a few others. Don’t get dad the usual stuff. At the very least you should amuse him!
This is pretty self explanatory. It’s a book about making stuff go boom in your backyard. Men love that sort of stuff, but most of us, even though we want to shoot a potato, don’t know how to make the potato gun. Problem solved.
Every man wants a multi-tool. I’ve wanted one for a long time, but it’s one of those items that I can always put off because of more pressing needs. I’d venture almost all dads want one, but they just keep finding excuses to spend their money elsewhere. Buy it for him as a gift and he won’t have to feel guilty.
Men don’t like to say it, but they all wish they could do pull-ups. Look at it this way. Dads at the park with their kids stay off the equipment for a reason. They don’t want to fall off the monkey bars and look like the old fart they think they are. Pull-ups give men the confidence that they can’t get with dumbbells or push-ups. Trust me, if there is one piece of exercise equipment in your house it should be a pull-up bar. This particular one can hold several hundred pounds and is completely portable. It was designed for Trapeze artists.
How Many Licks?: Or, How to Estimate Damn Near Anything
Men love parlor tricks. That’s all that needs to be said there.
I happen to own the weather station in the picture. I got it for a gift last year and it’s been of wonderful use. It’s one of those daily use items that you only appreciate when you stop to think about it. You put the sensor outside the house and it sends all that information to the nice little display (we have ours in the kitchen). It’ll even tell you what kinds of cloths to wear for the weather (which isn’t necessary but it’s fun anyway).
Flying Lessons
For at least the last 15 years I’ve wanted to take flying lessons. I suspect most men are the same. It’s expensive, but if you’re looking for a unique gift that is almost sure to hit the spot — this is it. What other guy get’s flying lessons for a present? Yeah, thought so.
Root Beer wasn’t always non-alcoholic and it wasn’t always called Root Beer. It used to be Root Tea (that’s interesting). The origins of root beer (root tea) come from the North Eastern Native American tribes who made it as an elixir before any Europeans ever showed up. Long story short, prohibition made people start making it non-alcoholic and some guy renamed root tea to root beer (weird). After prohibition it became nothing more than another fizzy drink with artificial flavors. Well, this company has put the alcohol back in and has re-concocted an original recipe. Buy this stuff and dad will feel educated and happy. Plus all his friends will be jealous. Yup, all that adds up to a perfect gift for dad.
These things are awesome. This little camera is how I take all the videos for my YouTube Channel and for this blog. It’s smaller than most digital cameras, it has 60 minutes of record time and the new model is rechargeable. If you’re a family that has a video camera that never gets used because it’s too inconvenient to lug around, this is the solution. It is actually a whole family present, but dad will like it because it’s inexpensive and extremely useful.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
I have been waiting for this game for a very long time. Game Informer gave it a 9.75 out of 10 rating and it’s the current hottest game on the market. Dad doesn’t like video games? He will after he plunks down in front of this.
BONUS: Xbox 360 or PS3 (So You Can Play Call of Duty!)
I don’t think dads and husbands really like to admit it because of the stigma attached, but if they grew up in the 80′s then the chances are that they like video games, or would like them if reintroduced to them. Dads don’t like to look lazy in front of their families, but the truth is that they are probably itching to spend a few hours playing video games. I had forgotten how much I loved video games before I got a Wii and an Xbox. The trick is to get dad feeling comfortable about who he is deep down inside. He wears a lot of masks that he’d rather not — video games will bring out the kid in him.
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Great list and a glimpse into your mind, interesting! Men are always hard to buy for so this list is helpful. Now how about Mely writing about the things that flip her switch? Women get a bum wrap on gifts also. Good article Keith.
I asked Mely about her list this morning. It was somewhat revealing and not exactly what I expected. good thing I asked! HA
Great list! (And pretty funny… especially the things that go “boom.”)
Someone gave my techhie-building-fixit son a Leatherman when he was 13. The kid LOVED it. It’s 5 years later and it is the one thing that he constantly uses – for everything – and whatever it cost, it has certainly paid for itself 100 times over. Great tool. (And no, I”m not on their payroll… personally, I wouldn’t know what to do with a Leatherman. I need Techno Boy for that.)
.-= BigLittleWolf´s last blog ..The restorative powers of sleep. (Not.) =-.
Wolf, I sat in Borders and read backyard ballistics for about an hour. It’s such a funny book full of stuff that does go boom!
Ah, the letherman. Always wanted one, never had one. The funny thing is that I’ve bought several of them for gifts for other people yet never one for myself.
Hmmm…that Root sounds mighty interesting. Personally, I’m hoping for a new Shun chef’s knife, but that is just my inner kitchen geek speaking.
.-= PJ Mullen´s last blog ..Defining modern manhood =-.
PJ, The root was the most interesting find I think. It’s something i’ve known about for about a year and I’ve wanted to try, but haven’t yet.
Check out blacksocks.com-it’s a new site from Europe that delivers men’s socks by sockscription. 3 pair/3 times a year automatically come to your door. Saves time and the socks are made in Italy-and they all match-so you will never have to search for a missing socks again.
Lori, thanks for the comment — even though you just plugged your own website
Jeepers Keith, your freekin blog just keeps getting better and better. I can’t keep up! I will be forwarding your 10 great gift ideas onto my wife for consideration this Christmas. How bout 10 great gift ideas for her? I think it will be an Ipod Nano this year unless you can come up with something better.
.-= Keith Rispin´s last blog ..Just Say No (Part 4) =-.
Thanks, Keith! I’m glad you like the list. I wrote another 10 gift ideas for women too, but it’s a lot harder to get women right. There’s so much variety when it comes to womens minds that it’s hard to nail it down.
Nevertheless, there might be something there she likes. A nano is a good idea. Thanks for another visit, man!
I know what moms like. 1. Romance novales 2,covergirl makeup 3.bed in breaktfeast, 4.amazig coffe, 5.usfel technoligi like ipads kindles new computers, 6.money 7.fancy expencive clothes and dresses 8. gotta love christian loubitan heels 9. hunormas box of chocolates & 10. babys